Rental Income & Airbnb Tax in Albania: Rates, Rules & New 2026 Changes

This guide focuses on short-term and Airbnb rental taxation in Albania, including the 2026 DIVA simplification, municipal tourist taxes, and platform obligations. For long-term rental taxation as a foreign property owner (notarized contracts, withholding, non-resident obligations, and property tax), see our foreign property owner guide.

All rental income in Albania is taxed at a flat 15% rate under Law No. 29/2023 "On Income Tax." This applies to both long-term rentals (annual lease contracts) and short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo. The tax is calculated on gross rental income -- the total rent collected before deducting maintenance or other expenses, unless you are registered as a business with a NIPT (see deductible expenses below).

If you are an individual renting out one or two properties without a registered business, the 15% rate is final -- it fully discharges your personal income tax obligation on that rental income. No additional income tax liability applies beyond municipal taxes. The 15% rate is the same for Albanian tax residents and non-residents who own property in Albania. A German citizen with an apartment in Saranda pays the same 15% as a Tirana resident renting out a spare room.

The 15% rental tax is separate from and in addition to the general income tax regime. It applies at the time of declaration, not at source. There is no withholding agent -- the property owner is responsible for calculating, declaring, and paying the tax. For long-term rentals, the annual income tax return covers rental income alongside any other taxable income. For short-term rentals under the 2026 simplified system, the DIVA declaration covers the obligation.

One important nuance: the 15% applies to rental income as a passive investment activity. Property owners who run a structured accommodation business -- with multiple listings, professional cleaning crews, property management services, and active booking management -- may be classified by the DPT as conducting business activity, requiring registration as Person Fizik or Sh.p.k. and subjecting income to the general business income rules. The line between passive rental and active hospitality business is determined by scale, regularity, and the use of staff. If you are operating what is functionally a hotel in all but name, the 15% passive rate may not apply.

Starting in 2026, individuals renting properties on a short-term (daily) basis, with no other commercial activity, are no longer required to register as a business with a NIPT to fulfill their tax obligations. Instead, rental income is declared through the DIVA (Deklarata Individuale Vjetore e te Ardhurave) -- the individual annual income declaration -- filed through the e-Albania portal by March 31 of the following year.

This is a meaningful simplification for casual Airbnb hosts throughout Albania -- in Tirana, Saranda, Vlora, Himara, Shkoder, and Korca. Previously, the requirement to obtain a NIPT created a barrier: hosts had to formally register as a business, manage monthly filings, and navigate the fiskalizimi electronic invoicing system before they could legally operate. The 2026 change removes that requirement for individuals with short-term rental activity as their secondary income source. You declare, you pay 15%, and you are done for the year.

For traditional longer-term rentals under a standard lease, the traditional rules continue to apply. You need a notarized rental contract (kontratë noteriale), and rental income must be declared in the annual DIVA. The notarized contract serves as the legal evidence of the rental relationship and is required for the contract to be enforceable in Albanian courts. Without notarization, the DPT may disregard the contract during an audit, treating payments as undeclared income at the full rate plus penalties.

A practical consideration for platform hosts: Airbnb and Booking.com are required under CRS data-sharing agreements and Albanian data requests to report payments made to Albanian hosts to the tax authority. The DPT increasingly cross-references platform payment data against declared rental income. Do not assume that because you were paid into a foreign bank account or through a foreign payment processor, the income is invisible to Albanian authorities. If you are an Albanian tax resident and you earn rental income from a property in Albania, that income is taxable in Albania regardless of how the payment was routed.

Beyond the 15% national income tax, short-term rental hosts are subject to two local taxes that apply per property and per guest. These are set by individual municipalities and collected separately from the national tax.

Accommodation tax (taksa e fjetjes). A per-guest, per-night charge on overnight stays, collected and remitted by the accommodation provider. Each municipality sets the level, capped by law at 5% of the nightly accommodation price. In Tirana, for example, it is ALL 140 per night for standard accommodation units and ALL 350 per night for 4- and 5-star hotels. There is no fixed annual per-bed fee.

Tourist tax (taksa e turizmit). A per-guest, per-night charge collected from the guest by the host and remitted to the municipality. In Tirana, the tourist tax is ALL 150 per person per night (~EUR 1.50). In coastal municipalities like Saranda and Vlora, rates range from ALL 50 to ALL 150 depending on the property category. This tax is technically charged to the guest, but the host is legally responsible for collecting and remitting it. Platforms like Airbnb sometimes collect and remit tourist taxes automatically in jurisdictions where they have formal agreements -- check your Airbnb host dashboard to see whether this applies to your specific municipality.

Failure to pay municipal taxes results in fines per the relevant municipal regulations. Repeated non-compliance can result in local inspectors visiting the property and, in extreme cases, requesting the suspension of the listing until obligations are settled. These are typically low amounts in absolute terms -- a few hundred ALL per year -- but the compliance obligation is real and auditable from the platform data the municipality can request.

Without a NIPT (tax identification number) and business registration, the 15% tax applies to your gross rental income with no deductions. You collect ALL 500,000 in rent, you pay ALL 75,000 in tax. There is no mechanism to reduce the taxable base by operating expenses for an unregistered individual landlord.

If you register as a Person Fizik with a NIPT, you can deduct property-related expenses from rental income, reducing the taxable base before applying the 15% rate. Deductible expenses include:

Maintenance and repairs: 100% of documented and receipted maintenance costs -- plumbing, electrical work, painting, cleaning supplies. The costs must be genuinely maintenance (restoring existing functionality), not capital improvements (upgrading the property). Capital improvements are depreciated rather than immediately deducted.

Building depreciation: 5% per year of the cost basis of the structure (excluding land). This is a non-cash deduction that recognizes wear on the physical property. For an apartment purchased at ALL 10,000,000 where the structure represents ALL 7,000,000, depreciation is ALL 350,000/year.

Furniture and equipment: 20-25% per year depreciation on furnishings, appliances, electronics, and fittings used in the rental property.

Utilities paid by the landlord: Water, electricity, internet, cable, building management fees, and common area costs where you bear the cost as part of the rental arrangement.

Property insurance: Annual premiums for building and contents insurance.

Platform commissions: Airbnb charges hosts 3-5% of each booking value. Booking.com charges 15-20%. These are fully deductible against rental income as a business cost.

The decision to register depends on your cost structure. A property with minimal expenses (new furnished apartment, minimal maintenance) earns little from deductions. A property with significant ongoing costs, furniture replacement, and platform fees may generate enough deductions to make registration worthwhile. Run the numbers with your accountant before deciding.

When you sell a property in Albania for more than you paid, the capital gain is taxed at the same 15% rate. The gain is calculated as the sale price minus the purchase price (or the declared cadastral value if higher) minus allowable costs of acquisition and documented improvement costs. Both Albanian residents and non-residents pay the 15% capital gains tax on Albanian property sales.

The seller is responsible for declaring the gain and paying the tax. In practice, Albanian property transactions often involve declared values lower than the actual transaction price, which reduces reported gains. This is an area of active DPT enforcement -- the tax authority has access to property market data and can challenge declared values that are significantly below market. Accurately documenting your actual purchase price and all capital improvement costs (with receipts) is the best protection against an audit challenge that reassesses the gain upward.

Non-resident property owners who sell Albanian property must file a tax return in Albania for the year of sale, even if they have no other Albanian tax obligations. The 15% on the net gain is due within 30 days of the transfer. An Albanian accountant can handle the filing on your behalf without requiring your physical presence in Albania -- provided you have the power of attorney documentation in place. For more on property purchase and ownership as a foreigner, see our guide to buying property in Albania as a foreigner.

We manage the complete tax compliance cycle for property owners renting in Albania. For short-term hosts under the 2026 simplified DIVA system, we calculate the annual rental income, prepare and file the DIVA declaration by the March 31 deadline, and coordinate payment of the 15% tax through the e-Albania portal. For long-term landlords with notarized contracts, we handle the annual income declaration and ensure the notarized contracts are properly recorded.

For property owners who have registered as Person Fizik to access expense deductions, we maintain accounting records throughout the year, track deductible expenses by category, calculate the depreciation schedule, and prepare the annual income tax return with the net taxable rental income correctly computed. For property owners who also earn other income -- employment, freelance, dividends -- we ensure the rental income is correctly integrated into the overall DIVA declaration without duplication or omission.

We also advise on the registration decision: is your rental activity at a scale and cost structure where Person Fizik registration reduces your actual tax bill enough to justify the ongoing compliance cost? For most single-property Airbnb hosts, the simplified DIVA route is sufficient. For owners of multiple properties with significant operating costs, registered business status almost always produces better tax outcomes. For planning around a future property sale, early advice on documenting your cost basis and improvements means a correctly lower capital gains tax when the time comes. Contact us to discuss your specific property situation.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Cross-border tax structuring requires professional analysis of your specific circumstances. We recommend consulting with a qualified tax advisor before making decisions based on this content.